SAULT STE. MARIE — First, the bad news: For one of the rare times this season, the Soo Eagles' usually stellar goaltending failed them when it most counted in a 5-4 shootout loss to Johnstown on Saturday night.

The good news: The Eagles still got a point. The better news: The Eagles are still in first place in the NAHL North Division.

The Eagles (27-10-4) sit in first place at the two-thirds mark of the season tied with Kalamazoo, which beat Janesville 6-5 in a shootout, with three games in hand. They are one point ahead of Jamestown, which lost to Springfield 3-2 Saturday, in what promises to be a thrilling finish to the Eagles' first season in the NAHL.

"Every weekend is like a playoff game," Eagles coach Bruno Bragagnolo said. "It's a hell of a race, that's for sure."

The Eagles play Jamestown the next two weekends — Thursday and Friday in New York and Feb. 8-9 at Pullar Stadium, while the K-Wings host the Eagles on March 2-3 and the Ironmen on March 16-17.

The Eagles entered the third period with a 3-2 lead but found the score tied after a wild 43-second spurt. The Tomahawks' Cody Gylling circled from the half-wall to the slot and fired an uncontested shot past goalie Zach Nagelvoort on the power play to tie the game. The Tomahawks took a penalty on the play, and Brandon Adams banged home a rebound off a Eric Rivard shot to give the Eagles the lead 18 seconds later.

A whole 25 seconds after that, Connor Wright beat Nagelvoort on a weak backhand that prompted Bragagnolo to pull his starting goaltender.

"You hate to say anything about the goaltending because they've been so good all year," Bragagnolo said. "But there were a couple of soft goals."

Tyler Marble didn't fare any better in the shootout, getting beat twice five-hole and letting two pucks in that he got a piece of.

Nagelvoort finished with 37 saves, while Marble stopped five — but only one shootout attempt.

The Eagles still lead the NAHL with a .931 team save percentage while facing the fourth-most shots in the league.

The Eagles had a 3-1 lead on goals from Sean Murphy, Brandon Adams and Alexander Taulien before giving up a goal to Mitch Hall on a 3-on-2 with 23 seconds left in the second.

"I didn't like that we gave up that late goal," Bragagnolo said. "And I didn't like the penalties we took, we should have been more disciplined. It wasn't one of our best games of the year."

The Eagles head on their final three-game road swing of the year, playing twice at Jamestown and once at Johnstown.

The Eagles went 1-2 on each of their last three-game road swings. They are 1-3 in shootouts this season.

Page 2 of 2 - SOO EAGLES 5, JOHNSTOWN 2: Chris Waterstreet and Jared VanWormer each scored two goals for the Eagles, and Alexander Taulien had a goal and two assists. Tyler Marble stopped 38 shots for the win.